Institutionalizing Segregation: Women, Conditional Cash Transfers, and Paid Employment in Southern Ecuador

Abstract

Conditional cash transfers have become the tool of choice in poverty reduction throughout the global South, granting women significant access to social protection. Yet, their inclusion has not necessarily resulted in more equal gender outcomes in employment. This paper addresses the question: to what extent has targeted social protection supported women in creating a more level playing field in the labour market? Two cities in the south of Ecuador form the context of new empirical evidence gathered to study the Bono de Desarrollo Humano programme (Ecuador) used to explore narratives of dependence associated to the provision of conditional cash transfers in a context marked by deep-rooted gender inequalities. The paper argues that the essentialist views of women’s capacities that underpin conditional cash transfer hinder their intended transformative impact, failing to introduce changes that would otherwise permit women to take full-time secure employment or move towards guaranteeing their social rights.